


girls in white dresses and blue satin sashes (these are a few of my favourite things)

by orphan_account



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas, F/F, First Meeting, morgana and gwen are in love and no i will not be taking any criticisms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 00:21:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21638059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: It's December in Albion, and Gwen is trying to get into the Christmas spirit. Unfortunately, she gets disrupted. Although, as it turns out, maybe it isn't too unfortunate.
Relationships: Gwen/Morgana (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin) - mentioned, Morgana & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 51





	girls in white dresses and blue satin sashes (these are a few of my favourite things)

**Author's Note:**

> the summary sounds like... really sexual but i promise that this fic isn't. i'm really not that type of writer and gwen is much too innocent for me to ever write something like that for her

It was the beginning of December and Albion was looking like something out of a Hallmark Christmas movie. The streets were blanketed in the softest looking snow and the streetlamps were shining, giving the entire world a hazy, dreamlike feeling. Gwen smiled into her hot chocolate, wrapping her hands a little tighter around the mug. 

She was curled up on her couch, thankfully far away from the biting winter cold, and listening to soft instrumental versions of her favourite Christmas songs, as she watched the first major snowfall of the year. It had been a tradition that her family had shared when she was little, gathering together to watch the first snowflakes tumble clumsily from the night sky. It was her favourite part of the winter season, so she decided to continue it even after her mother and father had passed and her brother had started travelling to far and wide places that, more often than not, didn’t have snow. Sometimes the tradition would make her feel nostalgic and a bit lonely, but right now she only felt warm and content. 

Gwen snuggled a little bit deeper into her blanket and let out a soft sigh. She wished she could stay in this moment forever. 

“Fuck you, you fucking arsehole! See if I ever help you with fucking Uther ever again!” 

Gwen physically jumped at the sound of a slamming door and the string of curses that followed. Her hot chocolate very nearly spilled out of her mug, onto her supposedly cheap couch and brand new winter-themed pyjamas. Breathing a bit shakily as adrenaline coursed through her bloodstream, Gwen carefully set down her mug. She narrowed her eyes, trying her best to listen for anymore shouting but all was quiet now. She waited another moment but, since the silence persisted, she decided to pick up her mug again and try to relax back into the content state she had been in earlier. She had raised the hot chocolate to her lips, leaning back against the couch when-

“I fucking hate you, you arsehole! You’re the worst fucking brother ever!” There were a few more shouts, accompanied by a pounding of fists on a door. 

This time, Gwen did spill her hot chocolate. 

“Shit!” she whined, wincing as the hot drink seeped through her pyjamas, onto her leg. Deciding that she had had quite enough with the disruptive fighting that was occurring across the hall, Gwen set down her hot chocolate for the second time and stood up. Her neighbours were about to get a piece of her mind. She strode purposefully to her front door and flung it open with as much bravado as she could muster. “What the actual hell are you doing?” Was what she had meant to snap, anger and annoyance clear in her voice. Instead, it came out more like, “What…? Are you doing?” Regardless, it still had the desired effect. 

The woman who had been shouting and pounding at her neighbour's door whirled around to face her, her dark hair swirling around her face and her eyes absolutely blazing. She looked a bit mad, actually, but Gwen was left breathless anyways. And then the woman’s eyes softened and she tried to smile pleasantly despite the anger she was still clearly feeling and Gwen nearly passed out because fuck! She was gorgeous and Gwen generally didn’t do very well when interacting with gorgeous people (See: Leon, her childhood crush). A moment passed where Gwen literally couldn’t remember how to make words come out of her mouth before the woman decided to take pity on her and speak instead. 

“I’m sorry?” she said, and, oh no, even her voice was gorgeous! Bold and elegant, with a lilting accent. Gwen was screwed. Suddenly, she remembered that the woman was talking and did her best to tune back in. “... and he decides that this is the night, of all fucking nights, to finally make a move on his best friend whom he has been in love with for ages. But it’s not like I have anywhere else to stay, most of the hotels are full and the streets are absolute hell anyways. So, I figured if I were annoying enough they’d have to stop fucking and let me in out of irritation and pity. Apparently I misjudged their abilities to ignore me. I’m rambling, sorry. My brain to mouth filter absolutely disappears when I’m sleep deprived.” She scrunched up her nose into an adorable look of annoyance. “Not that you needed to know that.” 

Gwen let out a rush of slightly awkward laughter. “No, it’s okay. I ramble a lot too, only when I’m nervous. Which is all the time, basically. I’m a very nervous person.” She bit her lip, trying to force herself to stop talking. “Not that you needed to know that.”

The gorgeous woman laughed, her eyes lighting up. “I’m Morgana, by the way,” she introduced herself, stretching an elegant hand out across the hall. “And you are?”

“Oh, I’m Gwen. Guinevere, really, but everyone calls me Gwen,” Gwen responded, almost stumbling over herself to move further into the hallway to shake the woman, _Morgana’s_ , hand. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m, uh, quite sorry that you got thrown out of your lodgings.”

Morgana smiled, again, letting go of Gwen’s hand. “I am too. Don’t get me wrong, I am desperately happy that my brother finally became self-aware enough to acknowledge his feelings and act on them but it would’ve been lovely if he did it before I got to town.” She placed a hand on her lilac suitcase that Gwen hadn’t noticed due to her looming crush and extended the handle. She tilted her head to the side, her eyes wandering as she seemed to be thinking about something else. “I suppose I’ll try to find my way over to Merlin’s and break-in. He owes me that, at the very least.” Morgana’s gaze suddenly flitted back to Gwen’s. “It was lovely meeting you Gwen, I’m sorry to have troubled you with all my shouting and then my rambling.” 

She was turning to leave when Gwen was suddenly struck with a brilliant yet awful idea. “You could stay!” she blurted, her words coming out a bit stilted. “With me,” she added, to clear up any confusion. 

Morgana turned back, one impeccable eyebrow raised. “Really? You’d let me, a complete stranger, stay in your home?” 

“Yes,” Gwen responded, without really thinking about it. This wasn’t an action that was so out of character for her, though, Morgana was right; she wasn’t usually so accommodating to complete strangers. But there was just _something_ about Morgana. She felt that she had to get to know her and, even if her brother lived right across from her, she was afraid that she’d never get to see her again. “I mean, yeah, sure. You said earlier that the streets weren’t too good and I wouldn’t want you to get hurt trying to find other accommodations when I could have helped you out here. Besides, if your brother lives across the hall, you only have a very short trek to march before you can murder tomorrow morning.” 

Morgana smiled widely at her. “You are a godsend, Gwen! Thank you so much!” And before Gwen even knew it, Morgana was closing the distance between them and enveloping her in a tight hug. Gwen tensed for a moment but then gave into it, hugging Morgana right back. She smelled like lavender. 

“It’s not a problem,” Gwen mumbled into Morgana’s shoulder, feeling a bit embarrassed but also overwhelmingly content. “ _Really_ ,” she stressed, as Morgana pulled away. 

“Well, I appreciate it anyways,” Morgana replied. She clasped her suitcase handle again and tugged it onto its wheels. “Shall we?”

“Oh! Yes!” Gwen spun around to face her open doorway. “Just through here,” she stated, walking inside and wincing at the rather obvious statement. She could hear Morgana entering behind her, the clacking of her heels (Morgana was ready for some fancy institution or business meeting, dressed in a red blouse that was probably worth more than Gwen’s apartment and black dress pants, and here was Gwen, in hot chocolate stained pyjamas!) and the rolling of her suitcase a surprisingly comforting sound. 

“Your flat is adorable!” Morgana exclaimed, her voice filled with wonder. “I love it!” When Gwen turned to face her, Morgana was beaming and looking right at her. 

Gwen, a bit flustered, said, “Oh, thank you! I quite like it, and it has a really lovely view.” 

Instead of turning towards the window to check out the aforementioned view, Morgana kept her gaze on Gwen. “You’re right, it really is quite lovely.” Then she abruptly moved towards the window, her movements a bit more stilted than the fluid motions Gwen had become accustomed to. 

Gwen shook her shook, feeling her cheeks heat up. Was this really happening? Only five minutes ago she had remarked to herself that Albion looked like something out of a Hallmark Christmas movie. Now, it appeared that she was living one. However, she wasn’t complaining. Gwen joined Morgana at the window, hopeful and excited for whatever may happen next. 

**Author's Note:**

> Check me out on tumblr at gosh-mr-big-brain!


End file.
